South Africa's favourite travel companion

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Satellite navigation systems are fine but they are easily confused, particularly when it comes to constantly changing city and town lay-outs and new street names - as a group of motoring journalists discovered recently while trying to negotiate a route through down-town Johannesburg by depending solely on one of the better makes of satnav, only to get hopelessly lost

More than 1,5 million copies of this invaluable local road guide have been sold in the 25 years its has been in print, not only to locals but also to thousands of self-drive foreign visitors. (A few years ago I even found a pristine copy at a boot sale in a small town in Ireland).

Hundreds of local families have a well-worn copy in the glove compartment of their vehicle and it's a bible to many a small business operator.

A print assistant to your GPS

Some of the popular features of the newly-updated atlas are detailed maps of popular tourist areas, 46 detailed street maps of cities and towns from Cape Town to Phalaborwa, strip routes and distance tables, a detailed index of place names and it even lists GPS co-ordinates for major road junctions.

Women can't read maps and men don't ask for directions, as the saying goes, but this comprehensive guide to South Africa's highways and byways is a quickfix solution to that problem.

The latest edition goes on sale this month and additional free downloads and updates are also available from the publishers' website www.mapstudio.co.za.

At R79.95 the South Africa Road Atlas is not only an essential buy, but it also makes a perfect gift which will be appreciated for many a year to come. Guaranteed to save you time, frustration and embarrassment - and maybe even your marriage!